Till Our Last Breath
by Miss Tigger
Summary: The Will of Fire has been passed down from generation to generation since its beginning. An incredibly formidable bond between people, it's as thick as blood, as strong as steel, nurtured to its prime and kept till the last breath. Canon.
1. Prologue: The Child From Uzushiogakure

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or their characters, plot, and storyline. I just own my original characters and plot line.**

**A/N: Obviously to those who have read this story's first chapter before I deleted the story, it was completely different. I felt like I hadn't started the story at the right place, so here's a different version. I'm going to start at the very beginning so that you guys have a chance to meet the OCs and see how they become who they are. This takes place during Minato's rule, just before the Kyuubi attacked the village. At this time Itachi is about 5 years old and Sasuke is still considered a newborn. Naruto isn't even born yet, but don't worry about that.  
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><p><strong>Till Our Last Breath<strong>

**Prologue: The Child of Uzushiogakure  
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Konohagakure. The proud ninja village of the Land of Fire, also known as the Hidden Leaf Village. By far the largest population of the Five Great Nations, as well as home to several prime ninja. As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages known, the strongest have a chance to earn the title of Hokage, being the village's current "Fire Shadow". Konoha is a prosperous place; children are raised with a sense of respect and pride, as well as a promising future, as seen by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Konoha was also the home to several different clans, and out of them, four esteemed clans, often referred to as "nobles", known as the Aburame, Akimichi, Hyuuga, and Uchiha clan.

The Aburame were characterized for their use of insects as weapons, mainly insects known as kikaichu. At birth the clan member is signed onto a contract with the insects, allowing them to feed from their chakra and offer their bodies as nests or living hives. In exchange the insects do their bidding, allowing the shinobi to perform unique, ninjutsu-like techniques. They also possessed the ability to communicate with other bugs and insects.

The Akimichi clan members possess great physical strength and are able to quickly convert calories into chakra, which they then use in their various secret techniques. Most of these techniques rapidly consume the user's chakra, and for this reason the Akimichi have high chakra levels and eat a lot in order to build up or replenish their chakra reserves. As a tribute, members of the clan wear the kanji for "food" on the their clothing. If standard calories aren't enough for a battle, Akimichi can use the clan's Three Colored Pills, which are developed by the Nara clan, to convert excess fat into chakra. Because it converts excess fat, the cost of the use of the pills is one's own health. Many Akimichi use a boas their choice of weapon. These staffs have the ability to lengthen in proportion to their wielder's size, and are equipped with appendages located at the ends. The Akimichi clan has a special relationship with the Nara and Yamanaka clan. In a recent generation, members of these three families have formed "Ino–Shika–Cho" trios, named after the first part of the names of the members with the Akimichi members being the "Cho" in the trio. To strengthen the unity between the three clans, a member of the Sarutobi clan will give them special earrings to present to each generation head when they are promoted to Chuunin after which they will swear their oaths. The earrings also symbolize that they are considered adults by their respective clans.

The Hyuuga clan possess the kekkei genkai known as the Byakugan, which litterally means "white eye". All members born into the family possess these opalescent eyes, the kekkei genkai feared for the great visual prowess that it grants its wielder. The first ability of the Byakugan gives the user a near 360º field of vision, except for one blind spot at the back of the neck above the third thoracic vertebra. The second ability is being able to see through solid objects, and can use a degree of telescopic sight which differs from person to person, ultimately depending on the level of mastery the user has achieved. However, there have been certain barriers that they have not been able to see through. The third and one of the greatest uses of the Byakugan is the ability to see chakra, the chakra flow and also the chakra circulation system inside the body with great detail. Because of this third skill, members of the clan are instructed in the use of the Gentle Fist style as opposed to the Furious Fist style, which uses the Byakugan to view the opponent's Chakra Pathway System and deal precise blows to disable and impede the flow of chakra, which is able to cripple the opponent if enough pressure points are blocked. Because of this it had been deemed the strongest taijutsu style of Konoha.

Lastly, the Uchiha clan. They were the co-founders of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, alongside their rivals, the Senju clan, whom they helped build the village from the ground up. The Uchiha were famous for their powerful chakra, exceptionally strong techniques, and natural affinity for anything combat-related. The clan possess a proficiency in fire techniques, having created several and using them more skillfully than any other. The Uchiha were also highly known for their mastery of ninja tools. They themselves invented many shuriken move sets which required the use of thin metal wires, one example being the Windmill Triple Blades technique. But not only that, they possessed the kekkei genkai widely renowned as the Sharingan, or "Copy-Wheel Eye". The Sharingan allowed them to see the "colors" of chakra, as well as copy nearly any jutsu through sight, as well as perform ocular genjutsu. Truly, they were a fearsome forced to be reckoned with.

There were many other clans, such as the canine-partnered Inuzuka, the Hiirotaka with their bird familiars, the Kurama, and the small Kyuuken clan, as well as the Nara, Yamanaka, and Sarutobi clan mentioned earlier. Sure, they weren't nobles like the other four, but were still considered to be important assets to the shinobi village. And by the time the Yondaime Hokage had ended his legacy as a hero, one of the twelve clans had been wiped out - save the only survivor who ended up being a child - and the only Senju clan member that was known to be still alive was bequeathed the title of "Sannin" before leaving Konoha, as her two fellow teammates and Sannin had done before her. Soon though, one more clan will have left the ranks of Konoha under the pretense of a bloody, bloody massacre.

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><p>Kushina Uzumaki - <em>no, Namikaze,<em> she reminded herself, wandered the market of Konoha, her stomach bulging with an unborn baby boy. Next to her was her husband's former student, Kakashi Hatake. She needed to run some errands, and her husband Minato had insisted that his pregnant wife take his former student with her, just in case she needed help with anything. She didn't understand why he would, he could always use his Flying Thunder God Jutsu to teleport himself to her side at any time, but was grateful for how much he cared.

By now Kakashi was holding a few grocery bags full of ingredients Kushina needed for dinner that night (eggplants, she saw him smile at that), a package that Minato needed mailed, and Kakashi had gotten a small box of exploding tags while they were out. The young Jounin looked a bit bored about having to accompany her, but if he was he didn't say anything. He simply followed her and helped her carry a few things around, making sure to keep her close by and within the sight of his right eye, even though he was used to having his left eye covered by now. She supposed he was just being courteous. She'd be sure to make him his favorite eggplant dish for dinner that night.

They turned a corner, running into a small little girl with silvery-white hair and dark grey eyes, causing her to fall on her butt. Kushina reached a hand down to apologize and help her back up. She noticed that she wore a light green kimono-styled shirt with a fishnet shirt under, the sleeves reaching just past her elbows, and black shorts. The ensemble briefly reminded her of her time as a Genin, when she used to wear clothes just like the little girl in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. Are you alright?" The girl nodded and took her hand and stood to brush herself off, allowing Kushina a full view of the symbol on the back of her shirt. It was an image of two swords, one black while the other white. The hand guards were inversed, the black sword having a white guard and vise versa, making Kushina think of a Tao circle. It was a familiar symbol, perhaps she saw it as a child before the destruction of Uzushiogakure.

"Kushina-san?" She looked over to the teen, then down at the girl.

"Ah, I apologize! What was it that you said?"

"Your hair is so red..." She was surprised to see a look of respect and recognition in the young girl's eyes. "Are you an Uzumaki?"

Kakashi looked over to his mentor's lover, confused at the question. He had no idea what the girl meant by her question, but the expression on the face of the woman whom he saw as his mother figure stated that she clearly understood. The corners of her mouth turned upwards in a smile.

"What's your name, little one?"

"My name's Natsuka Kyuuken. My clan used to serve the Uzumaki in the past. Or at least, that's what my mom told me." Kakashi noticed her face soften a little.

"Yes, I was Kushina Uzumaki of Uzushiogakure."

"Was?" She questioned.

"Uzushiogakure?" Kakashi echoed.

Kushina smiled and moved over to a nearby bench. The two followed her, Natsuka helping her sit down after seeing she was having slight difficulty.

"My maiden name is Kushina Uzumaki. My name now is Kushina Namikaze, wife of the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure." She saw the child begin to understand this. "Uzushiogakure was the hidden village of the Land of Whirlpools. We were smaller than Konoha, our territory was the island just off the West coast of the Fire Country. We're also distant relatives of the Senju clan, so we were always in a good relationship with them."

She gestured to the swirl on the flak vest of a passing ninja of the village. "That red swirl there, do you know why it's a part of the standard uniform for shinobi instead of Konoha's own, Kakashi?"

He gazed at it. "My father once told me that it was a symbol of friendship. But he didn't tell me to who."

"It's a symbol of friendship between Konoha and Uzushio, as well as the symbol of both the clan and the village. They keep it integrated into the uniforms in memory of their friendship and loyalty that once had and still does exist between the two clans, despite the disappearance of the Uzumaki and the dwindling numbers of the Senju."

Kakashi noticed that Natsuka had grabbed onto his shirt while she said this. But he didn't mind, it made him feel like a big brother almost. "What do you mean by 'the disappearance of the Uzumaki'? And what happened to Uzushiogakure? How come it's not on the map, and how come we haven't been taught this?"

"That's because Uzushiogakure doesn't exist any more."

The two looked down at the fair-haired girl. "People feared Uzushiogakure because of the shinobi there. They were experts in fuuinjutsu, and they were known for their really really long life spans. People feared them...feared _us_." Kakashi could feel her small frame trembling. His body moved on it's own and he instinctively pulled her in closer, noting that her shaking subdued itself, even if only a little. "They were scared...so they attacked...and then..." She clung to the young Hatake's side.

The red-head looked at her with kind eyes, her hand on her stomach. "Yes, they feared us, and attacked, using their fear as an excuse. All because we possessed vitality and an rather frightening affinity in fuuinjutsu. Uzushiogakure was sent into shambles. Those who could not fight fled, those who could stayed."

Kakashi held tightly onto the small girl. "How many people survived the war?"

"We dispersed around the world, so really, there's no telling how many survivors there are. They're possibly from the Uzumaki, considering the largest clan there was our own. But like Natsuka here there are obviously other members from other clans who were able to escape."

"Oh, there you are Kushina." A familiar voice said from behind the two younger persons. "Oh, Kakashi. I didn't know you had a younger sister." He said in a surprised tone.

Kushina smiled at her husband. "He doesn't. This is Natsuka. She came from a clan that used to served under my own."

"Really? Well they do look fairly alike. Minato looked up, looking as if he was trying to remember something. "Natsuka? You must be the little girl who the Third was speaking about."

Kakashi looked at his teacher. "What was he talking about?"

He patted the girl lightly on the head. "Apparently the Kyuuken clan possesses a doujutsu like the Hyuuga and Uchiha."

"They do?"

"Aa. It's a doujutsu that's fairly hard to awaken, normally clan members don't awaken it until they're Genin. This little girl here awakened it at such a young age, she's gained some fame among the Genin and Chuunin. Even the Jounin are fairly impressed." He said as he looked at the slate grey irises of the 5-year-old.

"Is it like the Byakugan or the Sharingan?"

"A bit of both." Kushina said. "It's called the Inyougan, and it's considered a lesser version of the two. It was only kekkei genkai that Uzushio had."

Kakashi looked at Natsuka, who simply looked right back. Her eyes were grey, but a shade that didn't appear normally. "So, what does it look like, the Inyougan?"

"Well, I've never seen it personally, but I've heard that they base their clan's symbol off their kenjutsu skills and the image of their Inyougan." Kushina said, indicating the symbol on the back of her shirt.

"I can show you, if you want." She said. Minato could see that Kakashi was interested, when he looked from the girl to his wife to him, and then back to the girl.

"If it's okay with you, could you?" She nodded with a big smile, and closed her eyes before reopening them. Minato saw his mouth widen under his mask. Kushina was also looking intently at her eyes. She turned to let him see, and he smiled at the relevance it held to her clan's symbol.

"Well, this certainly is unique."

Kushina jolted in surprise. "The baby is coming."

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><p>"Hurry! Get the Genin and children away from it! We cannot let them become victims of that monstrous beast!" A kunoichi yelled, barking orders at others. She seemed to be Jounin ranked, seeing how other moved to her words. Her turquoise hair looking dark and orange in the light of the moon and the heat of the flames. In front of her stood an enormous orange fox, just as large as the village itself. Its nine tails fanned out behind it. It was the Kyuubi, the ninth of the tailed-beasts.<p>

"Let me go! I have to help my mom and dad!" A young boy struggled violently against the presumably Chuunin-ranked shinobi who picked him up and fled towards the safer area of the village. "Mom! Dad!"

Iruka kicked and thrashed, tears running down his tanned cheeks as he watched his father thrown back by the beast, his mother running to his aid. She turned towards the beast with a fire in her eyes that he had never seen before, launching a jutsu at it to no avail. She too was thrown back by one of it's gigantic tails, unmoving as her back collided with the trunks of trees. He shut his eyes, but the image was burned into the back of his lids. he stopped struggling, tears now flowing freely from his eyes.

They were gone. He was all alone now. There was no longer any hope for Konoha as the beast tore through the wall that protected the village.

Iruka saw the fox romp over towards a part of the village as he was carried over there rooftops towards the safe house in the side of the Hokage Monument. It was where a clan resided. Several of its members leapt off the roofs of the houses, at the fox, the gleam of metal flashing in the moonlight as they drew their blades. They lit profusely, coated in the elemental chakra the blades conjured from the wielder. Fire, water, wind, lightning. Earth release chakra was less affective when using chakra blades, while wind and lightning were favorable, his mother had told him.

The fox thrashed its tails, hitting all the shinobi who were unlucky enough to become caught in its way, knocking down the numbers by over half. In the streets he saw a girl, a few years younger than he, her white hair matted with blood and dirt. She was running towards the clan neighborhood. A boy about her age followed cautiously, carrying what seemed to be a bundle of blankets in his arms. From his current view, he seemed to be faring better than she. They seemed to be moving cautiously, the girl looking back every so and so at the boy, and the boy at the bundle.

_I wonder what's in that bundle?_

"The Fourth is here!"

Or perhaps, they were doomed from the start.

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><p>"Kakashi," the Yellow Flash said. The boy looked over his shoulder, balancing himself on the tree branch. He was slightly surprised at his teacher's appearance. "I'd like to ask a favor of you."<p>

"What is it?" He wondered, skeptical about what his teacher was about to ask.

"After this is all over, if she's still alive and breathing, I'd like for you to adopt Natsuka Kyuuken as Natsuka Hatake, your younger sister." The young Hatake's eyes widened slightly at his teacher's last words before he left for battle. "This is the last order of Minato Namikaze as Hokage, and the dying wish of Kushina of the Uzumaki clan."

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><p>Huff huff huff. "So, why are you following me again?" Natsuka asked.<p>

"It wasn't safe where I was before, and you seem trustworthy enough." The boy said.

"What are you carrying again?"

"My little brother."

"Oh...Whats his name?" She pushed a piece of rubble out of the way.

"Sasuke."

"That's a cool name." They pushed on, taking to the shadows to hide from shinobi who were looking for children who were left behind.

"Where are you going?" The boy asked. He shifted Sasuke slightly.

"To my clan's neighborhood."

"Why?"

"There's something I need to get there just in case something happens."

"Why not go to the one in the Hokage Monument and get it later?"

"Because it's the headband my clan has been passing down from family to family since we came to Konoha."

"I see."

"The Hokage summoned a giant toad. What was his name again? Gamabunta-or something?"

"Yeah."

"We're - …" She stopped, frozen in her tracks. The boy came up from behind.

"What happened here…" they're eyes were wide.

"No..." she shook her head in denial.

"They're all..." the boy clenched his hands.

"No..."

"There's so many..."

"Don't..."

Sasuke began crying.

"Corpses..."

She fell on her hands and knees, screaming the profanities only a child could. "No! No no no! They can't be dead! Not all of them!"

"They're all dead..." he whispered.

"No! I won't believe it! Otou-chan and Okaa-chan," the smiling faces of her mother and father flashed through her mind. "They'd never die like this! Never!"

"There's nobody alive, they're dead. You have to accept that." He said, although his voice was shaking as well. Sasuke's bawling ran throughout the destroyed neighborhood, calling for someone, but there was no one.

"They can't...Otou-chan promised he'd come to my orientation when I finally enter the Academy."

An unfamiliar voice forced them to turn around. "He can't. Nobody can. They're all dead."

"You're the Onii-chan from before." She whispered.

Kakashi stood behind them. "They were killed by the Nine-Tails Demon Fox."

_Of course, the fox killed them. But, where was it now? It's become awfully quiet now that I think about it._

"But the Yondaime Hokage and Kushina-san managed to seal him away."

The boy looked up from his younger brother. "Then, where are they?"

"They're dead."

_Kushina-sama...was dead?_

"They gave up their lives to seal away the Demon Fox."

_They gave up their lives to seal away the beast? What kind of fuuinjutsu did they use? And where did they seal it away to?_

"Why..?"His gaze softened.

"Let's talk about it later. Sempai saw what happened to your clan. He told me that should you be safe I was to become your guardian, Natsuka."

"My...guardian?" He nodded. "And you." He looked at the boy. "Shouldn't you be in the safehouse?" The boy didn't say anything. He only held his baby brother closer, more protectively. "Well, it's over now." He conjured a shadow clone and had it carry the boy and Sasuke while the real him carried the girl to a safer part of the village. In the background, some were using Water Release jutsu to help put out the flames that had sprouted during battle.

_Minato-sensei, Kushina-san, not only did you die doing what you had to do, but you've left behind friends and family who care for you, your son, and also the sole survivor of a clan that wished to serve yours until death. I used to wonder how two people who were almost opposites in personality could have anything in common, but now I think I know now._

_You both really are selfish people._

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><p><strong>AN: This is a rather short prologue, but what I want told is done, so I'm satisfied enough. Originally it was 5,000+ words but it didn't flow right, so I'll save that for Chapter 1.** **Now like any author would say, "Read and review! The button is just under the text!"**

**Now for those who didn't know the following:  
>Fuuinjutsu = Sealing Jutsu<br>Uzushiogakure = Village Hidden by the Whirling Tides  
>Uzushio = Whirling Tides (Like how it's Konoha and Suna and such)<br>Yondaime = Fourth  
>Doujutsu = Eye Technique<br>Kenjutsu = Sword Technique  
>Kekkei Genkai = Blood-Line LimitTrait**

**If I missed anything just say so or look it up dattebayo!**


	2. Enter, Team Four!

**A/N: A short credit to new readers, returning readers, readers from other stories, favorite-rs and subscribers! Thanks for giving this story a chance. And a special thanks to StrawberriesAndCinnamonJAM for being first subscriber to the story :) This would have been updated earlier, by my laptop's keyboard broke so I had to use a wireless one which was synced with a mouse, so I had to use that too. It's got the page forward and back button on the side which has been driving me _crazy_ since I kept accidentally pressing it and it would _go back a page and loose all the text I had typed_. I ended up getting frustrated after tenth time and kinda let myself cool down for a bit. But it's here now :)  
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**Disclaimer: I would be too busy planning out the next chapters of the manga if I owned this now wouldn't I?**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Enter, Team Four!<br>**

"Ne ne, are you going to come to my graduation, Nii-san?" Dark grey eyes stared into darker, nearly black ones as the sunlight shone on two heads of silvery white hair.

The crease of a smile formed under the mask of the said "nii-san", a deep chuckle coming out from under. "Of course, Natsu."

The young girl pouted at the name. "It's Natsu_ka_, not Natsu. And you better promise not to be late this time, like at orientation."

"Ha ha, alright." He said, sweatdropping. Last time he was late, it was to her orientation. She had taken his Icha-Icha books and hid them somewhere for a week, a feat he was both proud of and annoyed by. But Natsuka was a person who appreciated punctuality by nature, which was something he used to have, but currently lacked.

"Promise?" She held out a pinky.

"Promise." he said as he held out his. Satisfied, the girl gave him a peck of his cheek before pulling on her school bag and running out the door of the apartment they lived in, her long silver hair obscuring the image of two swords imprinted on the back of her dark blue kimono-style shirt, the long sleeves going past her wrists and ending just at her knuckles, making the eight-year-old look smaller than she should. He stood outside the apartment, watching her until he could see her no longer.

_Three years,_ he thought. _Three years since the Kyuubi attacked, three years since her clan was destroyed, three years since we've become family._ He let his thoughts wander. _One year in the Academy, and already she's graduating. Well, legally she is my sister after all._ A chuckle escaped his mouth. "Well, I have some time before her graduation ceremony. I suppose I should visit Obito." He said to nobody in particular.

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><p>"Ami Fuyama."<p>

"Here!" A young blonde girl raised her hand. The teacher nodded and continued down the attendance list.

"Takuya Kazeshiro."

"Osu!"

"Hibiki Haimoto."

"Here!"

"Natsuka Hatake."

"Over here." The girl raised her hand.

"Mami Shika."

"Haii!"

"Ushio Nara."

"I'm here!"

_When will it end,_ she thought.

"Maiyuri Hyuuga."

"Here." replied the dark haired girl, her words short and clipped.

"Daisuke Kazuka."

"Here."

"Kouki Hiirotaka."

No response from the boy with the hawk on his head.

"Kouki Hiirotaka."

Natsuka nudged the sleeping boy. "Sensei's calling you." She hissed.

"Hiirotaka! Wake up!"

The bird seemed to have enough yelling for the day. It grabbed a talon-full of the boy's sandy brown hair and took to the air. The boy, startled, jumped from his seat into the air, grabbing his head and yelling, "THAT HURTS!" as only a fool would. The class burst into loud bouts of laughter. He fell, and Natsuka, who unluckily was in the seat next to the window, was met with the image of feet as he fell. His head landed in the lap of their quiet black-haired neighbor. He didn't speak to them often, so they usually forgot his name.

"Nice going, idiot." She hissed at the boy. "Props for the bird though." she added.

"Like it's my fault Kurohoshi is an early bird and I'm not." The boy said defensively as he straightened himself, calling out a rather pained "Here" to the teacher, who, now used to these antics, went on to the next person. "Oh and now look what you did. Kurohoshi's gotten arrogant now!" He exclaimed, his words holding a tinge of his unique Suna dialect.

The white-haired girl uttered a quiet "humph" and watched the midnight-black hawk settle itself onto his shoulder. The two chattered about current events until the clap of a pair of hands brought their attention to the podium. "Alright alright! Settle down! I understand Kouki's antics earlier were indeed amusing, but now let's get down to business shall we?"

The students leaned forward in their seats in anticipation. "Today, as you all know, is exam day; the day that determines whether or not you'll be promoted from an Academy Student to Genin." A small cheer was heard from the students. "Like usual, we'll be conducting the exams individually, and in alphabetical order. So that means you're first, Takeshi." A boy with slim black glasses looked up from the book he was reading. _The Makings of a True Shinobi_, Kouki noted.

"As for the rest of you, it's a free period. Come up to room 205 on the second floor when you're called. Class ends after the last person is finished with their test." With that, she conducted the necessary sign and disappeared in a poof, leaving Takeshi to wander up to the room on his own.

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><p><strong>Twenty Minutes Later.<strong>

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><p>"Kouki Hiirotaka." The teacher said.<p>

"Here here!" the spunky brunette replied.

"For the exam all there is to do is correctly perform Bunshin no Jutsu. You must successfully conjure three or more clones to pass."

"Yosh! Here I go!" He made a cross with his index and middle fingers. "Bunshin no Jutsu!" A cover of smoke landed around him, and both the teacher and a fellow Chuunin waited for it to clear. Once it did, they were met with five, identical clones of both Kouki and his hawk familiar, Kurohoshi. Each one moved, as if to test if it worked correctly or not. The teacher exchanged looks with her neighbor before returning her sharp, brown-eyed gaze back on him.

He dispelled the clones and awaited her answer, confident he passed with flying colors. "Kouki Hiirotaka,"

_Here it comes_, he thought.

"I hereby declare you a graduate of Konoha's Ninja Academy. You've earned your hitai-ate. Call in Tsuchiko will you?" She smiled as she gestured at the table in front of her, half of the forehead protectors already taken. He calmly walked over to the table and picked up a headband, thanking them before walking out. "Well, he seems to have-"

"YATTA! I PASSED! IN YOUR FACE NATSUKA! AHAH - OUCH! Kurohoshi that hurt!"

"On second thought, he's still the same fool from last year." She sighed, exasperated.

"Ha! I told you I'd pass!" The sandy blonde said outside. The last person in the class turned out to be the boy who usually sat next to them, so when he walked in with a blue hitai-ate around his forehead, everyone began packing. The teacher walked in after and said that they were to come tomorrow to start the necessary procedures of shinobi registration.

"Well, I distinctly remember saying 'it's so easy even you'd pass it', to you ya' know?" the white-haired girl retorted.

"So is your brother gonna be late again?"

"He better not be. I made him promise this morning before I left."

"But he's always like, super late!"

"And? Your point?"

"Ah, my family's here! C'mon let's go say hi!" He grabbed her arm and dragged the retorting figure of a girl towards his family. "Kaa-san! Nee-chan!"

"Heh, my cute little brother actually has a friend at school." his older sister, Kimiko, teased. On her shoulder sat a rather intimidating desert hawk. Her familiar, Akihoshi.

Grumbling, Natsuka straightened herself. "Konichiwa, Asuka-san, Kimiko."

Asuka Hiirotaka pinched the pale cheeks of the Hatake girl, causing blood to rush to that area and turn her cheeks slightly pink. "Such a polite young girl as always, Natsuka-chan. I see you also have a hitai-ate. Good job." The pigeon on her shoulder preened some loose strands of her hair.

"Arigato, Asuka-san. That tickles, Sorahoshi!"

"Ne ne, Kaa-san! It turns out the test was Bunshin no Jutsu."

"Oh, was it?"

"It was! And I made four clones of Kurohoshi and me."

"Ah, Natsu!"

He's actually not late today. The kunoichi thought as she turned and ran into the arms of her elder brother. "Nii-san! I already told you this morning, it's Natsuka, not Natsu."

"Haha, right right. Did you get your hitai-ate?" the male inquired.

She pulled away so he could see. "Of course! Who do you think you're talking to, Nii-san."

"Right." He said. "Oh yeah," He reached back into his pouch. "The Third asked that this be given to you once you graduated. He had it made specifically for today." He held out a small package. "This isn't to be opened just yet though." He warned.

"Then, when am I supposed to open it?" She pressed.

"Hm...Frankly I don't know." She almost fell over.

"D - Don't know?" By the tone of her voice he could tell what she was thinking

He grinned. "Well, I'm sure the Third will tell you when." He said as they walked home.

* * *

><p>The next three days compromised of Genin registration and nervous anticipation. Kouki, for example, couldn't sleep with the excitement of becoming a shinobi of Konoha. Others continued on with their lives, excited but not to his extent. And a few others reviewed older lessons and such, not wanting to be left behind when things started kicking.<p>

Kouki stood in front of his sink, drying his face with a towel. _Today is the day, _he thought as he picked up his grey hitai-ate. _I'm now an official shinobi._

"Kouki! Hurry up or you'll be late!" His sister called.

"Haii!" He tightened the fabric around his forehead. "I'm coming!" He ran down the hall of the house, bolting out the entrance. "I'll see you later!"

Kimiko frowned as she handed their mother a plate of breakfast. "Mou, that kid. I even made breakfast this time and he leaves without eating." She huffed. Her familiar, Akihoshi flew circles around her.

Asuka gave a cheery chuckle as she pulled on her flak jacket. "Well dear, youaren't exactly the best at cooking."

"Kaa-san!" She whined.

* * *

><p>Kouki rushed over to the Academy doors, glad to see he wasn't late. Slowing down, he wandered up the stairs to where the second floor was and made a left into his classroom. All the students who had passed were chattering about team assignments, hoping to be with certain people and not wanting to be with others.<p>

His forest green eyes scanned the seats until he spotted his silver haired friend and their usually quiet neighbor sitting next to each other in the back right of the room with him by the window and her in the middle. They didn't seem to be socializing with another, rather, they didn't even seem to notice each other. And as usual, the students were giving them looks Kouki recognized as respect and admiration.

For Natsuka he understood, with her written test scores ranked no. 1 (something he was secretly jealous of, despite refusing to accept her tutoring) and being the third best in the class at performing various jutsus (just below him of course). His written test scores were usually average from all the napping he normally did during a lesson.

For the boy though, he hadn't a clue why. Maybe Natsuka knew, but he doubted it. She hardly gave the teacher or class a second look unless her name was a part of the conversation, and she really only socialized with him. Perhaps if he started paying more attention during class he'd notice something, but again, he doubted it.

"Hey Natsuka." He said as he slid into the last open seat on the bench.

She stopped fiddling with the kunai in her hands and glanced up at him. "What's up, Kouki?"

"Nothing much. My sis made breakfast this morning so you could guess how the morning went." He made a face when his stomach growled. "I only regret not grabbing that apple that was sitting on the table before I left. What about you?"

"Same as usual, though I do wish everyone would be a bit quieter." She added. "I made an extra bento, so you can eat that later." She said, holding up a small bento wrapped in a dark jade green cloth, thin white stripes running diagonally down the the fabric. The boy eyed it hungrily before snatching it away. He unwrapped the cloth, his mouth watering at the sight of the crispy, deep fried pork cutlets, his favorite.

"I think I'll save this for lunch." He said as he covered it up, much to his stomach's regret. As he set it down he turned in time to see the boy who was usually their tablemate holding out a green apple. Natsuka seemed annoyed, the arm extending in front of her face was blocking her view of the people down in front, who were having a rather amusing arm-wrestling match.

"Here, eat this." He said. Short, sweet, and to-the-point, they noted. "Not many people like the sour taste, but it's all I have right now."

_He has a decent personality,_ Natsuka thought. "Thanks, Kouki will appreciate it." She looked pointedly at her friend who took it, mumbling a "thanks" to the boy. He smiled back and returned to whatever he was doing.

The door slammed open, and in walked their sensei, Nana Fuji. "Okay, as you probably all know, today we will assign teams in three-man cells. All teams will consist of two males and one female." The class began murmuring. "Once I've called out your team I'd like for you to move seats so you can all sit three in a seat so that way you guys can start getting to know each other." She flipped a page on the clipboard and began calling out teams. "Team Four: Kouki Hiirotaka, Natsuka Hatake," the two high-fived. "And Itachi Uchiha." The two had surprised expressions as they saw the boy next to them look up at the mention of his name.

"So, you're Itachi Uchiha?" They said in a strange unison.

"You never knew?" He asked, his obsidian eyes glinting with slight amusement. Nearly everyone he met knew his name some how, some way, so this was a surprise.

"Well...I'm not one for gossip or socialization." She admitted. _That's true, she does zone out quite a bit during classes unless she's called on,_ he thought.

Kouki recovered from choking on a piece of the apple. _The actual Itachi Uchiha was really our classmate, and was our seatmate to boot! I can't believe I didn't recognize him all this time! Uwaa - I feel like an idiot!_ he mentally scolded himself. "To think that we didn't recognize you this entire time, now I think I can understand why everyone always looks at you like they're admiring you." He chuckled and nudged his friend. "Can you believe that we've been living under a rock this entire time?"

"My brother actually mentioned something about him a few times before, but I never really paid much attention to it. Besides, it isn't like I keep tabs on these things." She said. Nana-sensei clapped her hands.

"Now that everyone is assigned to a team we'll break for lunch. Make sure to be back in this room within an hour so you can meet the Jounin who will be your new sensei." They all dispersed.

Natsuka stood up, grabbing the bento she brought for herself. Kouki did the same, then turned toward their new teammate. "Hey, since we're all on the same team, you guys wanna have lunch together?" he said in his usual accent. The two exchanged looks and chuckled, following their energetic teammate out the sliding doors. "Now where should we sit~?" He hummed, and he scouted around for comfortable spots, finding few that suited his standards.

"We can eat at my house, my mother won't mind. She would have wanted to meet you two sooner or later anyway." Itachi said.

Natsuka looked doubtful. "Are you sure about that? I wouldn't want to intrude in on your house."

"It's a-OK with me." Kouki shrugged.

Itachi gave a gentle smile. "They won't mind it if I brought my teammates home for lunch. And besides, it's my father that is the stricter one, so if he is there try not to be too overly...Kouki." He finished. Kouki nodded before getting the real message behind it.

"Hey!" They all broke into laughter as they left the busier streets of Konoha and headed towards the Uchiha clan's neighborhood. They arrived in front of the walled neighborhood, the Uchiha symbol printed proudly on the walls and entrance gate of the community.

"My house is this way." He said, walking a bit faster. He was eager to return home and introduce his teammates to his family, mainly because he had a feeling they'd approve of them. Besides, he also noticed something familiar about the girl and wanted to know more about her before he confirmed his suspicion.

They sauntered over to the door of his home, slipping off their ninja sandals at the entry. "Okaa-san, I'm home." A pair of footsteps came from the kitchen area.

"Is that you Itachi?" Footsteps came from the doorway on their right. They belonged to a pretty lady, her soft black hair framing the sides of her face. "Arre? It's rare to see you bring friends home." She smiled at the two. "I'm Mikoto Uchiha, Itachi's mother. You'll have to excuse me, Itachi doesn't bring friends home too often."

"Actually we just started talking today. We're all teammates. I'm Kouki Hiirotaka and this is Kurohoshi, my partner. The kunoichi here is Natsuka Hatake." The boy cleared. Itachi looked around the house.

"Kaa-san," He started, "Where's Sasuke?" Mikoto noticed how Natsuka looked over at him in a mix of surprise, a small glint of recognition in her eyes.

"I sent him on some errands, he should be back soon. Did you eat yet?"

"We decided to come here for lunch actually."

"I see, then sit down. I'll make you something to eat Itachi." The front door opened, the sound of small footsteps headed towards the kitchen area.

"Kaa-san! I'm back!" A small figure appeared in the doorway, pausing at the sight of two unfamiliar people sitting at the table. Natsuka studied the small boy, noting how he looked like a younger version of Itachi. "Kaa-san, who are these people?" The boy asked with childish curiosity at strangers. He turned his head a bit to the right and saw Itachi. "Nii-san!" His face broke into a wide smile. "I thought you were at school today. What are you doing at home so early?" He asked as he moved over to the open seat, his back facing the doorway.

"We're only here for lunch. We have to be back at the Academy in another half hour." Mikoto set down a small plate of sandwiches in front of the two brothers. The other two had already started on their bentos. Kouki was easily heard happily munching on the crispy cutlets, his friend eating the same meal.

"Are these people your friends?"

"Sort of. We were assigned onto the same squad, but we haven't really spoken until now." He gestured at the two. "This is Natsuka and that one's Kouki."

The three regarded each other, one studying the other intently, one staring in shyness, and one glancing with a piece of pork cutlet sticking out of his mouth. "H-Hi. I'm Sasuke." He said, playing with his hands out of shyness.

Kouki swallowed his food. "My name's Kouki. The bird on my should is Kurohoshi, my partner."

"Natsuka..." She said a bit reluctantly. The air became awkward, as if there were secrets being hung over the heads of the children as they ate.

"So why don't you tell us a bit about yourselves?" Mikoto asked. There was a pause in Itachi's eating, but only for a moment.

The two exchanged looks. "We'd love too, but it's about time for us to return to the Academy. Maybe next time." Natsuka said.

"Oh, alright. Until next time then." She said. The three cleaned up and pulled on their shoes.

"Until next time." Kouki echoed, and they left.

"We've got about 10 minutes to make it back to the Academy, so you guys better pick up the pace." Natsuka said.

"Geez, I almost forgot that you could be a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to being on time." Kouki replied. "Let's think of this as training them! We'll get their, and we'll do it in style!" He yelled as he jumped up onto a roof, running along the shingles with Kurohoshi flying above him. "'Hurry up', you said!"

"Is he always like this?" Itachi asked as they followed him in pursuit.

"Only when it involves food and things that involve shinobi." She glanced at him. "If it's a problem take it up with him. When we catch him anyways." She added as the boy only got farther ahead. "Oi, Kouki!" She jumped ahead, kicking Kouki off a roof before yelling something about a race and continuing on ahead.

Itachi could only laugh at the look on their faces as he jumped past the both of them, making it there five minutes ahead of the appointed time. _I think I'm going to like being with them._

They slid into an open bench, the last of the students that where to come back. Nana-sensei stood at her podium, a few ninja standing behind her. "I expect that all the teams are together?" She said mostly to her students, her eagle-like scanning the room. Some students moved around, sitting together with their teammates. "Alright then, let's get going. The shinobi you see behind me are of Jounin rank, and one of them will be your new sensei."

She moved away from the podium and stood off to the side, a rather hansome male Jounin stepped forward, his pearlescent eyes giving away the fact that he was of Hyuuga blood. His hitai-ate was tied around his forehead as it was normally word, his dark brown hair sticking up in a messy, but attractive way. Kouki frowned at how all the girls started fawning over him, while the boys looked interested in how strong he was. But his frown turned into a furious scowl when he realized that Natsuka's cheeks had a light dusting of pink on them. _Well, she_ is_ a girl after all,_ he thought.

He cleared his throat. "My name is Kaede Hyuuga, one of the Jounin who will be supervising one of you ten teams. I hope that all of you Genin here understand what it means to graduate from the Academy, and that there is more to being a great shinobi than just being strong and skilled, and that we Jounin will not be easy on you just because you're newbies."

_This guy...Perfect hair, perfect looks, that "cool & superior" attitude...tch, I pity the team that gets him as their Jounin,_ he thought, scowling.

"Now, if Team Four could come down, I'd appreciate it."

_Wait...WHAT?_

Everyone looked at the three in the back, the girls out of jealousy at the white-haired kunoichi, who merely kept on a mask of indifference. Kouki's eyes were a blaze, his mood easily read as "unhappy" as the trio walked down to meet their new teacher. He nodded and led the three out the classroom, the next Jounin stepping up to the podium single out his team. He led them to the roof of the Hokage's office. The stone faces of the past Hokage watching over them and the village. Kaede's eye watching their movements as they sat for hints for what kind of team they might be.

"Alright then, let's begin with some introductions." They looked up in question.

"What exactly do you want us to say?" Itachi asked.

"Your name, likes and/or dislikes, goals for the future, hobbies, and anything you feel I should know about you."

"I see. Then you should understand that," He began, leaning back into the shade of one of the four sun-heated pillars.

Natsuka leaned forward from the top of the same pillar, her legs dangling over the edge, elbows on knees, fingers interlaced. "Since you brought it up..."

"You should be the first one to start, as an example." Kouki finished, leaning on the stop where the guardrail and pillar met, his eyes scanning the Jounin warily.

_Their thoughts seemed attuned to each other well enough. Nana had told me that the kunoichi and the brunette hardly spent time with anyone besides each other, and that hey hardly payed much attention during the lessons or students for that matter,_ he mused. _And the other one, "an Uchiha prodigy" she said. Top of the class, while the girl ranked no. 1 test wise and no. 3 ability wise. And that boy, average test scores, but when it came to utilizing various jutsu, he had the breakdown of the technique after seeing it, making him no. 2 in that perspective, just below the Uchiha. This team...will be full of surprises,_ he cleared his throat.

"Very well, I'll start. My name is Kaede Hyuuga. I hail from the main branch of the clan. As for likes and dislikes, I enjoy watching over the young Mistress of the house, as well as the son of the main head's brother. As for my dislikes, I have a large dislike for anything overly spicy. My goals for the future were to originally to reach Jounin status, but seeing as that happened, I'm merely content with ensuring a peaceful future for the village. Lastly, my favorite hobby happens to be sketching."

The three looked from one another, exchanging looks from their three positions. A sigh, "I suppose I'll go next," the girl sighed. "My name is Natsuka Hatake. I like games, and I dislike a lot of things. My goal is something I don't want to tell you, and my hobbies...I like cooking and tasting different kinds of spicy foods."

_Hatake...Kakashi's younger sister perhaps,_ he thought. "Alright. Next, the one with the bird."

Kouki made the smallest pout. "Fine. I'm Kouki Hiirotaka and this is Kurohoshi. I like sweet things like the rice cakes at the Amaguriama shop just outside the town, and Kurohoshi like to fly around Konoha. We both dislike dreary weather and moods. My goal for the future is to become the best shinobi i can alongside Kurohoshi. My hobby is taking care of the birds in the Aviary, and Kurohoshi...likes to hunt and preen his feathers."

A nod. Itachi went last. "I am Itachi Uchiha. I like the peace of Konoha, and I dislike war times. My goal for the future is actually a promise I made to my brother, and for my hobby, I like visiting traditional Japanese cafes."

_Short, sweet, and we didn't learn much about him, _Natsuka mused.

_Man, that just made him cooler,_ Kouki thought.

_An Uchiha on the team, this will be interesting, _Kaede smirked. "Alright, then onto the next topic: A survival lesson." They three perked their heads up in interest. "Tomorrow morning at 4 am, meet at Training Area 6. And as a warning, you'd better come prepared for anything."


	3. Promised Potential

**Disclaimer: **I don't own.

**A/N: **I realized my mistake on Kouki's surname in the last chapter. Himura was originally the name I had chosen for him. The mistake has been fixed, as well as the typos I made for the prologue. Sorry for the shortness. I really can't seem to write anything more. I have Writer's Block Syndrome. It's very serious.

If you signed the petition that was previously this chapter, I love you (no homo)

Also, stupid Doc Manager wouldn't let me upload the goddamned file D:

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: Promised Potential<strong>

_"As a warning, you'd better come prepared for anything."_

A slim hand reached out from under cotton covers, fumbling for the source of the ringing heard in the room. A bird dropped a small alarm clock onto the hand.

"What time is it?" the person mumbled, slowly blinking awake in the darkness. "Oh Kami! I'll be late and Natsuka will have my head!" the brunette jumped out of bed and rushed into the washroom, stripping off his sleeping clothes as he ran through a quick shower, not bothering to fully dry his hair. His brushed his teeth, pulling on his ninja clothing as he did so. "Natsuka is gonna kill me." he scribbled a note for his mother and ran out the house with an apple in hand.

He tore though the sleeping village, rushing to the meeting place, Kurohoshi flying ahead of him. _It's still fairly dark, so hopefully she won't notice that I'm a little late,_ he thought as he landed on the dirt ground with a small thud.

"You're late."

_Shit. I was so close._

"By how long?" he asked.

"Almost ten minutes now."

"Damn. It was because I overslept." he said as he bit into the apple.

Itachi chuckled. "Well Kaede-sensei isn't here yet anyway."

Natsuka frowned. "He's the one who told us to be here by four, yet it's almost fifteen past that, and he's still not here."

"Then, my apologies Natsuka." The three turned around. "I see that you're all here. Good, I can start then. As I said yesterday, we will be having a survival exercise today, but not just any."

"'Not just any'?" Kouki repeated.

"This is a test to see who will continue on as Genin and who will be sent back to the Academy."

"What? So that graduation exam was just a way to weed out those who didn't qualify as Genin?"

"Exactly. Did you think we were really just going to let you become Genin? Out of the 27 graduates only about 9 pass. That's three teams. This is an extremely difficult test that has over a 66% chance of failure. As for the test itself, it varies from one Jounin to another so that there's no way to cheat."

"Then what's your test?" Itachi asked.

He conjured the sign for a shadow clone, creating a second self. "This is my test: you must capture either myself or my clone. Who ever succeeds in doing so will continue forward as a Genin of Konoha. Whoever fails will be sent back to the Academy. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill me, then you won't pass. Simple as that. Now are there any questions?"

"Just one." Kaede looked over at the kunoichi. "Any rules or restrictions?"

He chuckled. "No, there aren't. Feel free to use any weapons or Justu in your arsenal. Basically, anything goes for this test, but you only have until 10 o'clock today. Now, start!" And all five of them scattered.

_Let's see how well they perform,_ the Jounin thought as he and his clone separated.

* * *

><p>Itachi flew past the trees, intent on observing the Jounin before taking action. "There's no way elimination is the main point of this test." He said to himself. "A ninja bears the pride of the village after receiving their hitai-ate." He paused and hid, hearing a faint rustling sound a bit ahead. He activated his Sharingan, perceiving a source of chakra near the rustling. <em>This color, <em>Itachi labeled it an unfamiliar chakra. He quickly hid in a nearby tree and scanned the area. _Feels a bit like Kaede-sempai's chakra, _He noted curiously. A branch snapped a couple feet to the right, and he focused his Sharingan in that general direction, but found that he couldn't pinpoint it as well as he should have. It was as if something was interfering with his Sharingan.

A branch snapped again, followed by a rustling of leaves.

It was right beneath him, yet he still couldn't pinpoint it, so he took the initiative and pulled the wire on a kunai trap he had set a few minutes before. They came from five different directions, none betraying his whereabouts, none aiming solely for the target. Instead, they stretched a wire net over the area. It was too wide to be able to escape easily. And due to using wire instead of rope as the net, it was stronger and less noticeable.

The sound of something metallic scraping against the wire reached his ears. He scanned the area once more, still not able to pinpoint the chakra. He waited a second before jumping down to check.

There was a log with two kunai attached at the ends with wire. The metal scraped against the net, so that must have been what he heard. _Impressive. Even Otou-san found it difficult to avoid this trap,_ he thought to himself. He dissembled the trap and left, thinking of the log as a sort of substitution. _Maybe Kaede-sensei is more than I expected him to be..._ his thoughts trailed off and he resumedi the game of reverse hide-and-seek, focusing on finding his possible sensei, when he saw a figure in the trees. He sped towards it, being mindful to hide his presence.

If he had turned around, he might have realized that the log had transformed into a person, and had gone the other way around.

* * *

><p>Natsuka sunk next to a rock, just lightly scathed from traveling through the trees. There was an impossibly large amount of traps in the forest, all set by Kaede, most likely. It was a pain having to either weave around or disarm them all, and she had almost been hit with a swinging branch on one of them. She knew Itachi had set a few of them, since there were one or two trademark traps by the Uchiha clan as well as the fact that she had watched him clear up one with a wire net.<p>

"Kami, why were there so many traps?" She groaned. He had seen a figure and sped towards it, and she had hopes that the figure was Kaede. But she wanted to avoid running into Itachi, so she had ended up having to circle around.

But hey, who was to judge? He did set that clever net trap after all. And she didn't want to take any more chances.

* * *

><p>Kurohoshi scoured the forest from the skies. He couldn't feel any chakra in the air, so he returned to Kouki, who had been tailing him from the trees. He was a bit scratched up, but not too badly. He almost had a run in with Itachi and was nearly made into mince meat with a wire net trap he had set, but luckily managed to avoid it by a hair's breath thanks to his instinct. He didn't stick around though, and quickly left the scene.<p>

Kurohoshi landed on his shoulder and cawed.

"Nothing?" He said, exasperated. "Man, we suck." His head dropped. "At this rate we won't be Genin! Natsuka and Itachi definitely will, I bet they're tailing him right this moment." He saw two kunai fly at him from opposite directions, both aimed for the pressure points to temporarily disable his arms. In a flash of sheer instinct he jumped backwards to another branch, narrowly avoiding collision as he spontaneously threw two kunai straight back. He threw a third and it hit the other two at the point and all three stabbed into the wood tree ahead. His finely tuned ears caught the scratch of the blades as they struck, as well as the pained noises that were let out. They must have struck flesh.

In an instant two figures emerged from the trees, filling Kouki with hope and dread at the same time.

"Natsuka? Itachi? You guys were the ones who threw the kunai at me?" He exclaimed incredulously.

"Kouki?" They realized. Itachi had a cut on his upper arm; Natsuka had one at her side.

"Yeah, it's me you idiots. Who else would have a bird right here right now?" He frowned as Kurohoshi perched on his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry Kouki. I guess we thought you were Kaede-sensei." Natsuka apologized.

"Well I haven't seen him since the start."

Itachi nodded. "I guess none of us can seem to find him. He keeps eluding us. Maybe we should work together and focus on finding only one of them."

"But he said can pass by catching either him or his clone. And there's only two." The bird tamer interjected.

Natsuka shook her head. "We have to catch one of them. He never said we couldn't all catch the same one."

"Oh...Lets do it then."

* * *

><p>"For rookies, they've got promising potential." Kaede murmured as he used his Byakugan to watch them from afar. He thought of Itachi's cleverness with the wire trap, Natsuka's wit when she avoided the traps both he and Itachi had set, and Kouki's instinctive reflexes just now. "It'd be a shame to send them back to the Academy, should they fail this test. Their skills could drop." He jumped off the branch and started to move. The final round was about to begin, and his potential students were drawing up a game plan.<p>

"I hope they realize it'll take more than teamwork to pass this test."


End file.
